Obama's Call for "Change We Can Believe In" Makes Prevention a Priority in Health Reform

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Covering the uninsured and modernizing America's health care system are urgent priorities, but they are not enough. Simply put, in the absence of a radical shift towards prevention and public health, we will not be successful in containing medical costs or improving the health of the American people.

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The president of Partnership for Prevention said today that President-elect Obama's call for "change we can believe in" should make disease prevention and health promotion a cornerstone of any health reform effort. Accordingly, the organization launched an ad campaign declaring that "Health Reform We Can Believe In Starts with Prevention."

The ad began running in today's edition of The Hill, a popular Washington, D.C., newspaper that is geared towards coverage of congressional matters. The ad can be found online at http://www.prevent.org/realad.

"Barack Obama campaigned on a health policy platform that was based in part on Partnership for Prevention's 'Principles for Prevention-Centered Health Reform," said John M. Clymer, Partnership's president. "We support the president-elect's call for an increased focus on prevention and public health."

Clymer noted that Obama's "Plan for a Healthy America" issued earlier this year declared that: "Covering the uninsured and modernizing America's health care system are urgent priorities, but they are not enough. Simply put, in the absence of a radical shift towards prevention and public health, we will not be successful in containing medical costs or improving the health of the American people."

Partnership's ad echoes the sentiment, stating: "Changing the way we pay for health care without addressing the drivers of health costs is not real health reform. A prevention-centered health system - using evidence-based practices that focus on preventing illness, not just treating illnesses after they happen - is essential to real health reform."

The ad notes that one in every six dollars in the U.S. economy is spent on health care, and that 70 percent of that spending goes to treat chronic diseases. Meanwhile, more than 70 percent of chronic diseases are largely preventable.

Partnership's principles call on policy makers to ensure that both clinical preventive services and community preventive services play an important role in a reformed health system, and that policy makers develop and track system performance standards related to prevention. More information about the "Principles for Prevention-Centered Health Reform" can be found online at http://www.prevent.org/content/reform.

On Dec. 11, Partnership will release a set of more detailed series of policy recommendations for Congress and the White House to consider. The recommendations will be based upon a series of policy papers it has commissioned from some of the nation's most noted prevention policy experts.